Laid off Chicago Nabisco bakery workers and their union leaders say they aren't done fighting to protect American jobs from being shipped to Mexico. They protested Wednesday outside the bakery and detailed next steps for their Nabisco consumer boycott campaign.

Chicago is once again in the national spotlight. This time, the city is making headlines over a protest that led to the cancellation of Donald Trump's campaign rally at the UIC Pavilion. Progress Illinois analyzes the day's developments and its possible long-term implications.

Chicago Public Schools principals will have to spend less as the cash-strapped district grapples with its pressing financial issues, including an upcoming $688 million pension payment, district officials said Wednesday.

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A former Chicago transit worker who claims he was "unjustly" terminated last month saw support Wednesday morning from some Chicago Teachers Union members and community groups, who want the fired bus driver rehired.

The group, including representatives from the Black Youth Project 100, spoke out before the Chicago Transit Board meeting.

Erek Slater, who previously worked as a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver and claims to be a "union steward" and Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 241 executive board member, said he was "unjustly" fired last month.

According to the group, Slater was fired after initiating, as a union steward, "an inquiry into a possible violation of the contract" by the CTA "on the request of his coworker."

As the March 15 primary election nears, the controversy surrounding the 2014 police shooting death of Laquan McDonald refuses to let up. On Tuesday, just a week before the primary election, lawsuits were filed against the Chicago Police Department, the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), and the office of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who is facing a tough re-election bid, for more information on the case.

Specifically, the suit is calling on the police department, IPRA and Alvarez to release their respective records on the McDonald investigation. The lawsuit was filed by independent journalist Brandon Smith, who -- with the help of the Invisible Institute's Jamie Kalven -- pressed for what was the eventual public release of the police dash-cam video of the McDonald shooting.

Smith says the timing of the lawsuit serves a dual purpose in light of the upcoming election.

Some Chicago aldermen, small business owners and retail lobbyists want Mayor Rahm Emanuel to reconsider his tobacco tax proposal, saying the plan would adversely affect local businesses and neighborhoods, including those already impacted by black-market sales of "loosie" cigarettes.

But a coalition of health organizations is firing back, calling on the city council to "reject the tobacco industry's rhetoric and to pass a strong tobacco control ordinance."

Debate rages on over Emanuel's proposal to increase the smoking age in Chicago from 18 to 21 and impose a $6 million tax on non-cigarette tobacco products, with the revenue going in part toward Chicago Public Schools orientation programs. The plan is aimed at preventing "young people from picking up smoking, while investing in their education," according to the administration.